..'^.. 


Aw 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


1^1^    |2.5 

|50    ■^~       IMli 

£f  144    ™= 
2.0 


111 


I 


ME 


r 


'/] 


w 


o 


7 


f^> 


/ 


/A 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WfST  MAIN  STRICT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  873-4903 


d 


V 


iV 


^ 


\ 


;\ 


o^ 


i 


'fl^ 


: 


vf 


i 


4 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadipn  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


H 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  ati:empted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 
D 
D 
D 

n 


Coloured  co»w.s/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommag^e 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 
D 


D 


n 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
It  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout6es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  dtd  film6es. 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
<e  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  ^^ue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


D 
D 

n 

D 
0 
D 
D 
D 
D 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaur6es  et/ou  pellicul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6color6es,  tachetdes  ou  piqudes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quality  indgaie  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppldmentaire 

Only  edition  avuiiable/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  dti  filmies  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilieure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  rMuctlon  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


28)t 


30X 


>/ 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

2»iX 

32X 

The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Hamilton  Public  Library 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  A  la 
ginirositi  de: 

Hamilton  Public  Library 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
cf  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  m'crofiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —*>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  filmd,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exempiaires  originaux  dont  ia  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film6s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exempiaires 
originaux  sont  fiim6s  en  commenpant  par  ia 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  compoite  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  carte*,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film^s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seut  clich6,  il  est  filmi  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


I     t 

2 

3 

1 

i        .                  ; 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

My.-.. ' .  j;i-:iyiipiMiiRPiiPiPi^ 


^ 


7 


- 


\ 


/ 


^ 


7 


"  Nuiie  but  a  cynic  would  dcspiae  seutiiueiit ;  ni)udi|it  a  I'uul  would  build 
upon  it."— GoLUWix  Smith.  '  ^-  ^i',        . 


*. 
* 


!^ 


msTionNT 


IIBTWKKN  'IIIR 


United  States  and  Canada  : 


■  t 


Political  or  Commercial, — 

Which  is    Desirable    and   Which    is 

Presently  Possible? 


A  SPEECH   BY   ERASTUS   WIMAN, 


Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  December  9,  1891. 


NEW  YORK: 
31-4:     i^i-OELci-w-ay. 


^ 


■f 


1947 


c. 


: 


UNION 


UBTWEEN  THE 


\ 


TJiTiTED  States  and  Cai^ada: 

Political  or  Cominercial,— 
Which   is  Desirable    and  Which  is  Presently 

Possible  ? 


[From  the  Brooklyn  Standard-Union,  December  10,  1891.] 

The  Union  League  Club,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  was  recently 
addressed,  on  the  question  of  Canadian  Annexation,  by 
Mr.  Francis  Wayland  Glenn,  who,  though  an  American, 
was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Canadian  Parliament,  and 
is  now  a  resident  of  Brooklyn.  His  principal  contention 
was,  that  to  promote  Eeciprocity  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada  would  have  the  effect  of  postponing 
indefinitely  the  Annexation  ^f  that  country.  A  pohtical 
union,  he  urged,  was  the  only  desirable  relation  to  exist 
between  the  two  portions  of  the  continent ;  but  if  all  the 
advantages  of  a  political  union  could  be  secured  by  reci- 
procity, there  would  be  little  or  no  possibility  of  a  closer 
and  intimate  political  relation  existing  for  many  years  to 

come 

At  the  request  of  the  Union  League  Club,  last  night 
Mr  Erastus  Wiman  discussed  the  topic  of  the  future 
possible  relations  between  the  two  countries,  and  for  the 


■  v.- 


Unton  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


i' 


■/hM 


purpose  of  broadly  coiisi<l(*i'iii.i^'  the  whole  question,  stated 
the  propositiou  as  follows  :  •'  Union  with  Canada:  Poli 
tical  or  Commercial, — which  is  desirable,  and  which  is 
presently  possible?"  Inasnuuih  as  Mr.  Wiman  has  given 
a  great  many  years'  study  to  this  subject,  and  is  perhaps 
more  fully  informed  than  any  one  else  in  the  United 
States  as  to  the  conditions  on  both  sides  of  the  border, 
his  deliberate  conclusions  on  the  subject  of  a  possible 
political  relation,  merit  caieful  consideration.  It  Avill  be 
seen  that  he  directly  opposes  Mr.  Glenn's  contention  that 
Annexation  is  soon  prol)able,  and  assumes  a  position 
somewhat  at  variance  with  the  almost  universal  desire 
and  expectation  of  this  country,  that  a  ])()litical  union  on 
this  continent  is  an  early  possibility,  lie  maintains  that 
if  annexation  is  ever  found  desirable  l^y  the  Canadian 
people,  it  can  only  be  achieved  through  a  reciprocal  union 
of  the  two  countries,  as  a  necessary  condition  of  pre- 
paredness. Without  an  approacli  to  each  other  through 
an  intimate  commercial  relation,  by  the  people  of  the 
two  nations,  there  is  no  hope  of  any  kind  of  a  union, 
either  political  or  commercial,  which  latter  of  all  things 
is,  he  considers,  for  the  moment  the  nu)st  desirable  for 
both  countries. 

Mr.  Wiman  preceded  his  address  by  a  brief  description 
of  the  physical  features  of  Canada.  Among*  otlier  things 
he  said  that  Canada  was  larger  than  the  United  States ; 
that,  exchiding  Alaska,  the  urea  included  within  the 
United  States  w^as  3,036,000  square  miles,  while  Canada 
included  an  area  of  3,500,000  square  miles.  This  area 
comprised  forty  per  cent,  of  the  British  Empire,  on  which 
it  was  the  proud  boast  of  the  Briton  that  the  sun  never 
set.  The  extent  of  the  country  might  best  be  judged  by 
the  magnitude  of  her  waterways,  which  are  the  most 


licsourccs  of  Canada. 


5 


'/ 


inaf;nificent  of  tliosc  in  juiy  country  in  the  world, 
illustrated  by  tlie  fact  tluit  Canada  possessed  within  her 
borders  more  than  one-half  the  fresh  water  of  the  ftlobe. 
That  ill  extent  of  resources,  the  Dominion  was  almost 
beyond  comparison  with  any  other  country.  Thus,  she 
had  more  iron,  of  better  (luality,  easier  mined  and  nearer 
a  market  than  any  other  country.  That  Canada  alone 
possessed  coal  npon  the  Atlantic^  and  upon  the  Pacific,  a 
fact  of  importance  in  \'iew  of  a  possible  foreign  trade  for 
the  United  States,  while  midway  across  the  continent, 
she  also  had  sup])lies  of  this  fnel, — her  coal  area  beinj^ 
over  l)7,(K)0  square  miles.  Tliat  her  supplies  of  timber 
were  the  best  on  this  continent.  Her  resources  in  this 
respect  were  of  inestimable  value,  in  view  of  the  enor- 
mous consumption,  the  destruction  by  fire  and  rot,  and 
the  steadily  diminishing  areas  of  forest  lands.  As  for 
the  fisheries  of  Canada,  they  were  the  greatest  in  the 
world,  including  a  coast  line  of  not  less  than  5,000  miles, 
possessing  the  potentialities  for  the  snstentation  of  the 
hnman  race,  rivalling  the  resources  of  any  other  food 
sui)i)ly.  These,  with  numerous  other  assets,  such  as  an 
ample  supj)ly  of  nickel,  copper,  silver,  gold,  i)hos- 
phates,  gyx>sum,  asbestos  and  other  minerals,  Mr.  Wiman 
set  forth  in  glowing  terms,  as  the  possessions  of  his  native  l^ 
land. 

Eeturning  to  the  area  of  Canada,  he  said,  many  people  / 
speak  of  annexing  Canada,  little  dreaming  of  its  future 
proportions.  Even  at  the  start,  if  all  the  Provinces  and 
Territories  became  separate  commonwealths,  no  less 
than  eleven  States  would  be  added  to  the  Union,  several  of 
them  as  large  as  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  com- 
bined. Therefore,  the  question  of  a  political  union  implied 
a  comprehensiveness  not  generally  attributed  to  it. 


^    ) 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


Mr.  Winiaii  described  the  diflferonce  botween  a  rolitical 
Union  and  a  (commercial  Union.  A  Political  Union  meant 
that  the  whole  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  shonld  become 
incorporated  in  the  United  States,  and  that  the  varions 
Provinces  shonld  become  independent  and  distinctive 
commonwealths.  That  the  same  relation  shonld  exist 
between  these  commonwealths  as  exists  now  between  the 
States  of  the  Union,  and  that  the  government  of  the  entire 
continent  should  be  vested  in  Washington,  as  it  is  noAV 
for  half  the  continent.  A  political  union  was  therefore 
clearly  understood.  A  Commercial  Union,  however, 
might  be  of  a  varied  character.  It  might,  for  instance, 
partake  of  the  character  of  a  ZoUverciii,  as  illustrated  by 
the  German  Customs  Union.  This  implied  a  uniform 
i  jtariff  all  over  the  continent, — the  tariff  to  be  created  by 
^Hthe  largest  party  to  the  compact.  In  other  words,  the 
customs  line  that  now  runs  athwart  the  continent  v/ould 
be  lifted  up  and  put  right  around  the  continent,  so  that 
the  same  duties  would  prevail  at  A^ancouver  and  Halifax 
as  at  San  Francisco,  New  York  and  other  American  ports. 
The  revenue  derivable  from  this  uniform  tariff  would, 
under  these  circumstances,  be  pooled  into  a  common 
fund,  and  divided  pro  rctta  ac^^ording  to  population.  No 
interference  would  be  offered  in  the  separate  expenditure 
of  each  nationality,  but  trade  should  be  as  unrestricted 
along  the  4,000  miles  border  line  as  it  is  now  between  the 
lines  ot  the  various  States.  The  result  would  be  a  perfect 
unification,  in  so  far  as  a  commercial  policy  was  con- 
cerned, though  distinctive  governments  would  still 
prevail. 

A  different  system  of  Commercial  Union,  however, 
seems  more  probable  just  now,  and  that  would  take  the 
shape  of  Unrestricted  Eeciprocity  between  the  two  coun- 


cal 
mt 
mo 

)I1S 

ve 

ist 

he 

re 

ow 

)re 

fcr, 


A  StupcndouH  Ecent.  7 

tries.  This  reciprocal  jwliey  wouhl  mean  a  perfect  ex- 
change between  the  two  countries  of  all  natural  and 
manufactured  jncxlucts.  It  would  still,  Imwever,  mean  a 
taritf  ])ractically  uniform,  or  at  least,  that  the  Canadian 
tariti' slnmld  not  he  lower  than  the  Am<'rican  tariff,  and 
it  would  e<iually  mean  a  row  of  custom  houses  alon}^'  the 
border  to  prevent  imp(U'tations  or  snuigj»linj4  from  Ku- 
rope,  as  throufih  a  back  door  in  ('anada.  It  would  mean 
free  admission  into  Canada  of  all  American  nuinufac- 
tures,  and  a  duty  upon  all  foreign  manufactures,  so  that 
in  a  sense  it  implied  a  discrimination  against  (lr<'at 
J^i'itain.  Later  on  he  wcmld  refer  to  this  subject  of  dis- 
crimination. In  the  meantime  a  general  view  of  a  Com- 
mercial Union  might  be  accepted  as  implied  a  free  and 
unrestricted  reciprocal  relation.  With  these  explana- 
tions, Mr.  Wiman  proceeded  with  his  address.  He  spoke 
substantially  as  follows :  . 

In  all  the  history  of  mankind,  no  event  has  occurred 
of  importance  so  stupendous  as  the  discovery  and  de- 
velopment of  the  continent  of  North  America.  It  would 
seem  as  if,  in  the  evolution  of  the  human  race,  that  of  all 
things  the  most  essential  to  its  happiness,  was  the  pos- 
session of  a  continent  of  such  vast  proportions,  and  of 
such  marvellous  productiv'e  i)ower.  To  imagine  the  world 
without  North  America,  is  to  imagine  a  condition  of 
population  equalled  only  by  the  density  of  the  population 
in  China  and  in  India,  and  in  the  most  crowded  of  cities. 
The  Malthusian  theory  that  population  would  by  and  by 
become  so  great  as  to  tax  the  productive  power  of  the 
land  occupied  to  supply  it  with  food,  seems  to  have  been 
only  rendered  inoperative  by  the  discovery  of  America. 
But  a^side  from  the  physical  and  material  advantages  of 
so  great  an  addition  to  the  space  for  occupancy,  and  the 


8 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada, 


l'\ 


power    to    produce,    a    still    ftreater    jnid    Holder    pur- 
pose Las  been  served  by  the  intellectual  and  moral  de- 
velopment which  on  this  continent  has  taken  place.     The 
fjlorious  ]>rinciples  of  self-;,'overnment,  the  abundjince  of 
opportunity,' the  ample  rewards  attendant  upon  industry, 
inventive  skill,  enterprise  and  unbounded  eneijiy,  have 
had  a  demonstration  in  the  United  States  elsewhere  un- 
known.   The  influence  ui)on  the  human  race  at  larj^e  of 
the  growth  in  this  direction  has  been  beyond  estimate. 
All  the   world  has   watched   with   intense   interest  the 
rapidity  of  evolution  cm  this  side  of  the  sea.     The  influ- 
ence of  the  principles  which  have  animated  this  people 
have  not  been  confined  to  themselves,  but  have  be?n 
universal  in  their  eftect.     Perhaps  no  contrast  to-day  is 
more  marked,  as  between  two  people,  than  that  which 
can  now  be  made  between  America  on  one  side  and 
llussia  on  the  other.    Notwithstanding*  great  wealth,  and 
productive  iiower,  one  shudders  to  contemplate  the  horror 
of  existence  amidst  that  vast  area  presided  over  by  the 
Czar,  where  famine,  imprisonment,  treason,  Nihilism  and 
liopelessness  prevail.    Compare  the  conditions  affecting 
large  sections  of  humanity  in  liussia  with  those  univer- 
sally existing  in  America!     How  free,  how  happy  and 
how  full  of  hope  are  the  people  of  this  fair  land!    What  a 
grand  past  have  they  made  secure!     What  a  magnificent 
future  seems  equally  certain!    In  Russia,  with  all  the 
natural  advantages  of  wide  area,  of  great  productive 
forces,   of  vast  accumulations  of  centuries   and  ample 
experience,  there  seems  more  than  the  usual  share  of 
sorrow,  suspicion  and  blighted  prospects.   In  this  country 
with  the  experience  of  only  a  century,  with  a  government 
that  was  experimental,  with  capital  that  was  inadequate, 
a  progress  and  a  degree  of  human  happiness  has  been 


t 

1 


Progress  Prevented. 


9 


Ir- 

le 
►f 

IV, 

e 
iti- 
of 


<  / 


attained  at  which  all  the  world  wtunlers.  The  result, 
therefore,  to  inaiikind  at  larj^e  ol'tlu!  development  on  the 
North  Anieriean  (M)ntinent  is  nune  important  and  more 
tar  reaching,  than  the  aehievenients  of  all  the  rest  of  the 
world  within  the  same  period.  A  greater  def»ree  of  hapi)i- 
nesa,  found  in  an  almost  unlimited  num])er  of  homes,  a 
self-reliance  and  growth  in  intelligence,  a  broadened 
ojiportunity,  and  a  fuller  life  has  been  lived  than  otherwise 
could  have  been  imagined,  had  not  there  been  achieve<l 
on  this  continent  this  later  develoj)ment  of  huunmity. 


THE  LINE  OF  DEMARCATION  THE  BARRIER  OF 

PROGRESS. 


With  this  consideration  in  view,  does  it  not  seem  sin- 
guhir  that  only  on  the  lesser  half  of  the  continent  has  this 
great  work  of  development  been  carried  forward  ?  True, 
on  tlie  northern  pjirt  of  the  continent  a  favorable  condi- 
tion has  been  created  for  happiness ;  but  largely  by  the 
influence  of  the  success  of  free  government  in  tlw  United 
Sta,tes.  Through  the  occurrences  south  of  the  border  a 
liberal  condition  of  government  has  been  inaugurated  on 
the  northern  half.  But  +  dcvdoi^ment  in  natural  re- 
sources, the  growth  in  x^opi.lation,  and  the  general  pro- 
gress of  the  human  family  has  been  far  less  marked  within 
the  British  possessions  on  the  continent  of  North  America 
than  within  the  Republic  of  the  United  States.  The  line 
of  demarcation  which  the  Bevolution  created  across  the 
continent,  a  little  south  of  its  centre,  is  as  marked,  so  far 
as  development  is  concerned,  as  if  that  line  were  a  physi- 
cal barriei  such  as  a  high  mountain,  a  deep  sea,  or  a 
wide  mora.  s.  It  is.  therefore,  a  most  interesting  study  in 
this  last  de«    de  of  a  century  that  has  achieved  so  much, 


u 


10 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


to  consider  the  conditions  that  prevail  nortli  and  south  of 
that  line.  It  is  still  more  interesting  to  discuss  the  plans 
that  can  be  adopted  by  which  the  line  of  demarcation 
can  be  practically  obliterated,  and  thus  help  to  heal  the 
"Great  Schism  of  the  Anglo-Sa-von  race!" 


OBLlTERATma   THE   BARRIER. 

Certainly  if,  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
whole  continent  had  been  included,  instead  of  less  than 
half  of  it,  there  would  now  be  no  justification  for  sepa- 
rating it  into  two  portions.  If  under  the  influence  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the  Republican  form  of 
goverument,  trade  had  been  as  free  over  the  whole  con- 
tinent as  it  is  now  between  the  States  of  the  Union  or 
between  the  Provinces  of  the  Dominion,  a  movement  to 
erect  a  high  customs  barrier  across  the  continent  would 
not  be  for  one  instant  tolerated.  Therefore,  if  by  any 
policy  which  can  be  pursued,  any  commercial  bargain 
which  can  be  made,  or  any  honorable  negotiation  carried 
forward  which  will  obliterate  this  barrier,  the  time  seems 
opportune  for  considering  it.  Surely  there  is  no  jus- 
tification for  the  continuance  forever  of  the  barbed  Avire 
fence  which  runs  athwart  the  continent,  over  which  one 
brother  cannot  trade  with  another  brother,  a.  bushel  of 
potatoes,  for  a  bushel  of  apples,  without  paying  tribute 
to  two  governments,  equal  to  the  cost  of  production.  Cer- 
tainly it  is  time  to  consider  the  propriety  of  extending 
the  area  of  the  trade  of  the  United  States  when  the  pro- 
duction of  manufactures  far  exceeds  the  consumption  ; 
when  in  order  to  eliminate  competition,  to  regulate  pro- 
duction and  maintain  a  profit,  there  is  a  necessity  for  i.ue 
trusts,  consolidations,  corners  and  combinations,  which 
are  now  the  striking  economic  feature  of  the  hour.    There- 


<j 


/ 


Three  Parties  to  the  Compact. 


n 


V 


^ 


fore,  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  all  who  are  interested  in 
the  future  of  the  country  to  consider  this  question,  for 
without  the  drawing  of  a  sword,  without  the  shedding  of 
a  drop  of  blood,  or  the  expenditure  of  a  single  dollar,  the 
area  of  the  trade  of  the  United  States  can  be  doubled, 
and  the  opportunity  of  its  i)eople  enormously  augmented. 
In  discussing  a  possible  Union  with  Canada,  there  are 
three  great  parties  to  be  considered.  The  first  of  these 
is  the  United  States,  the  second  Canada,  and  the  third 
Great  Britain.  It  will  be  well  to  consider  the  question 
from  the  standpoint  of  each,  in  the  order  as  here  set 
forth. 


FROM   A  ITNITED   STATES  POINT   OF   VIEW. 

So  far  as  the  United  States  is  concerned,  it  is  beyond 
all  question  that  some  form  of  practical  union  between 
1  the  two  countries  is  desirable.    The  general  impression 
/  is   that    a    political    union    is    essential.      Even    those 
who  are  willing  to  admit  that  a  Commercial  Union  is 
desirable,  and  now  possible,  look  to  it  as  the  first  step  [/ 
towards  a  Political  Union.    There  are  very  few  in  the 
United  States  wiio  regard  the  future  of  the  continent  as 
containing  two  separate  great  English-speaking  nation- 
alities.     The   general  impression  is  that  the  manifest   / 
destiny  of  the  British  possessions  on  this  continent  is\l 
that  thej"  will  be  eventually  included  within  the  American  -- 
Union,  and  that  the  American  flag  will  prevail  from  the 
Gulf  to  the  North  Pole,  as  it  now  prevails  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.    This  is  flattering  to  the  naticmal 
pride,   and  is  not  an   unreasonable   expectation.     The 
question  to  consider,  however,  is  Whether  this  is  a  desir- 
able thing;  second,  Whether  it  is  a  possible  thing.    Cer- 
tainly, when  one  stands  face  to  face  with  an  increase  of 


12 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada, 


territory  to  be  governed,  so  vast  as  to  equal  that  already 
possessed,  the  difficulties  of  the  governmeut  seem  greatly 
to  increase.  The  overworked  departments  in  Washington 
are  already  taxed  to  the  utmost,  while  the  new  complica- 
tions which  would  arise  in  so  vast  an  augmentation  ot 
territory  would  demand  machinery  far  in  advance  of  what 
|s  already  possessed.  The  fact  that  three  Secretaries  of 
\/the  Treasury  have  dropped  dead  at  their  posts,  and  that 
a  fourth  is  now  seriously  ill,  is  a  circumstance  of  deep 
significance.  A  further  instance  of  this  pressure  is  shown 
in  the  matter  of  legislation. 

OONaESTED  LEGISLATION. 

In  the  last  three  or  four  sessions  of  Congress,  bills 
reaching  the  number  of  fifteen  thousand  liaA^e  been  intro- 
duced,— yet  barely  a  thousand  liave  been  x^assed.  It 
may  be  doubted  if  any  one  member  of  Congress  could 
find  time  to  read  one  quarter  of  the  measures  upon  which 
he  is  asked  to  vote.  If  this  legislative  congestion  is  the 
result  of  a  hundred  years'  administration  in  half  a  conti- 
nent, what  serious  difficulties  would  confront  the  Con- 
gress, if  a  new  and  unknown  region  requiring  legislative 
action,  heretofore  governed  in  a  difl:'erent  manner,  and  re- 
quiring the  greatest  jjossible  attentioii  ?  Still  further 
difficulties,  however,  of  a  practical  nature,  appeal  to  the 
politician,  who  would  advocate  a  Poiltical  Union  with 
Canada.  Thus,  an  addition  to  the  number  of  the  mem- 
bers of  Congress  would  completely  and  suddenly  ch  nge 
the  political  character  of  that  body.  Tlie  i)olitical  future 
of  the  entire  country  would  be  uncertain,  unless  the  new 
members  i)0ssessed  an  acquaintanceship  with  the  ques- 
tions of  which,  up  to  the  time  of  their  admission,  they 
knew  nothing,  and  were  ready  offhand  to  make  an  affi- 


V 


Complications  in  the  United  States. 


13 


V 


liatiou  with  x>arties.  The  coiubiuations  and  calciiljitious 
of  politicians  the  country  over  wouhl  be  entirely  at  sea  if 
the  Roman  CathoUc  vote  in  Quebec  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  Orange-Protestant  vote  in  Ontario  on  the  other  were 
not  accurately  weighed  and  measured.  The  Senate  ot 
the  United  States,  now  equally  balanced,  would  be 
swayed  and  controlled  by  the  balance  of  power,  which 
would  rest  in  the  new  additions  of  twenty  -two  members 
from  no  less  than  eleven  Provinces,  which  under  annex- 
ation would  become  States  of  the  Union.  An  addition  of 
twenty-tAYO  Senators  would  be  a  serious  matter  to  con- 
template, and  especially  twenty-two  Senators  with  an 
imperfect  knowledge  of  the  past  in  this  country.  Indeed, 
when  one  comes  down  close  to  the  consequences  in  legis- 
lation, and  administration,  of  taking  over  so  vast  an 
area,  and  w  ith  interests  so  complex  and  diverse,  it  would 
seem  as  if  a  condition  of  long  and  careful  i)reparedness 
for  this  vast  change  should  take  idace,  not  only  in 
Canada,  but  in  the  United  States.  There  are  so  many 
questions  confronting  the  people  of  this  country  in  the 
vast  experiment  of  self  government  which  they  are  now 
endeavoring  to  solve,  that  to  precipitate  into  the  vortex  of 
practical  politics  a  totally  unknown  and  foreign  element, 
w^ould  be  dangerous  in  the  extreme.  Thus,  the  question 
of  the  colored  race;  the  question  of  the  currency,  as 
related  especially  to  silver;  the  problems  surrounding 
the  banking  system ;  the  ^nigration  problem,  an<l 
numerous  others,  are  all  in  a  certain  degree  peculiar  to 
this  country,  and  have  no  relation  wiiatever  to  the  halt 
of  the  continent  included  in  the  British  possessions. 
This  is  especially  so  in  relation  to  the  policy  relating  to 
pensions,  to  pay  which  Canada  would  necessarily  be  asked 
to  contribute;    also  the  questions  as  to  treatment  of 


/>v 


14 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


government  lands,  irrigation  and  such  local  matters.  In 
a  very  little  while  too,  the  question  of  area  might  seri- 
ously disturb  the  balance  of  i)ower  between  the  different 
sections  of  the  Union.  Thus,  the  two  Provinces  of 
Ontario  and  Quebec  are  in  extent  equal  to  the  combined 
areas  of  New  York,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Wis- 
consin, and  the  extent  of  their  rei)resentation  in  half  a 
century  would  change  the  complexion  of  the  represen- 
tative bodies  of  the  nation. 


... 


ASSIMILATION   UNDULY   TAXED. 

But,  there  are  other  considerations,  and  one  of  these  is 
that  of  the  ability  of  the  United  States  to  assimilate  at 
once,  and  immediately,  the  diverse  elements  of  which  the 
British  Provinces  are  composed.  The  faith  of  most 
Americans  in  the  force  of  the  assimilative  process  is  un- 
questioned, and  is  based  on  marvellous  results.  Up  to 
this  period,  notwithstanding  the  infinite  variety  and  com- 
plicated nature  of  the  yearly  foreign  additions  to  the  pop- 
ulation, the  W' onderful  process  of  digestion  into  the  body 
politic  has  gone  forward  without  hesitation.  But  at  one 
gulp  to  take  in  five  '^^^lions  of  j)eople,  who  have  an  expe- 
rience of  their  own  in  self-government,  and  who  are  in 
[some  degree  prejudiced,  somewhat  self-assertive,  and 
more  than  usually  self-reliant,  would  be  an  experiment  ot 
'which  there  is  no  parallel.  While  it  is  true  that  these 
people  are  of  the  same  lineage,  speak  the  same  language, 
have  the  same  laws  and  the  same  literature,  as  of  the 
United  States,  they  are  nevertheless  sufficiently  divergent 
to  make  the  experiment  somewhat  hazardous. 

But,  whatever  Uiight  be  the  result  as  to  the  English 
speaking  portion  of  the  new  territory,  there  certainly 
would  be  serious  and  grave  doubt  as  to  how  far  the  as- 


Assimilation  Taxed. 


15 


similative  process  would  apply  to  tUo  rreuch-Canadian 
portion  of  the  country  to  be  taken  in.  It  is  true  that  the 
large  emigration  of  French-Canadians  which  has  come  in 
"^  the  direction  of  the  United  States,  have  shown  a  marked 
condition  of  contentment  and  apparent  adaptation.  Yet 
it  is  a  fact  that  of  all  the  races  that  have  come  to  the 
United  States,  and  who  have  taken  part  and  lot  in  the  great 
process  of  assimilation,  this  race  is  the  only  one  that  has 
maintained  a  distinctive  nationality,  and  a  distinctive 
language.  Thus,  in  New  England,  the  French  people  are 
to-day  more  French  than  any  other  race  are  distinctively 
national.  The  French  language  prevails  in  some  Xew 
England  towns  to  an  extent  almost  as  great  as  the  Eng- 
lish language.  The  single  fact  that  at  all  the  new  rail- 
way stations  in  New  England,  a  dual  language  has  to  be 
employed  in  the  .dgns  and  directions  to  the  public,  indi- 
cates the  force  and  strength  of  the  separate  French  idea 
which  prevails  in  this  community.  If  this  is  the  condi- 
tion where  the  French  people  come  as  mere  immigrants, 
and  remain  perhaps  for  only  a  brief  period  to  earn  money, 
how  strong  would  be  the  sentiment  if  Quebec  were  a 
State  in  the  Union. 

THE  INFLUENCES   OF  A  STATE  CHURCH. 

Aside  from  this,  however,  one  must  always  bear  in 
mind  the  influence  of  the  lioman  Catholic  Church  in 
Quebec — an  influence  that  to-day  is  greater  in  its  force 
j  and  influence  than  prevails  in  any  other  country  in  the 
world.  It  is  true  that  the  central  power  of  the  United 
States  does  not  interfere  with  religious  matters,  and  that 
any  State  in  the  Union  can  have  its  own  church  if  it 
chooses.  It  is  equally  true  that  the  majority  of  the  people 
in  each  State  can  regulate  their  religious  affairs  without 


16 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


let  or  Lindrance,  iiiid  that,  if  (Quebec  wore  admitted  to  a 
Statehood,  it  would  not  matter  to  New  York,  or  any  other 
commonwealth,  what  religious  persuasion  prevailed 
among  the  majority  of  a  sister  State,  or  wiiat  powers 
were  imparted  by  that  State  to  a  religious  institution. 
But  it  is  a  fact,  nevertheless,  that  the  forces  wliich  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  exercise  in  Quebec  would  have 
a  most  powerful  influence  upon  the  educational  institu- 
tions of  that  commonwealth;  and  that  from  it  would 
radiate  an  influence  upon  the  common  school  system 
of  the  United  States,  which   to  many  thoughtful  minds 

;  would  iseriously  threaten  its  existence.  To  those  who 
believe  the  common  school  is  the  basis  of  free  institutions, 
such  an  anticipation  is  ful!  of  significance.  Even  at  this 
date,  the  Roman  Catliolic  desire  in  ^lassachusetts  for 
separate  schools  has  acquired  a  force  that  is  difficult  to 
resist.  The  feeling  of  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  future 
in  this  respect  has  made  many  who  have  hitherto  been 
advocates  of  a  close  political  union  with  Canada,  hesitate 
and  closely  consider  the  i)ossible  consequences. 

This  and  other  considerations  show  that  the  question 
from  a  United  States  view  of  a  Political  Union  Avith 
Canada  is  one  having  results  so  stui^endous  that  it  should 
not  lightly  be  considered.    It  is  a  fashion  to  say  that 

I  Canada  must  fall  as  a  ripe  i)lum  into  the  hands  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  a  general  nnpression  that  it  is  only 
necessary  to  use  the  proper  means,  and  the  whole  conti- 
nent will  be  included  in  the  Union.  But  a  reflection  will 
show  that  a  condition  of  preparedness  on  both  sides  of 
the  border  is  essential.  A  careful  inquiry  into  the  pos- 
sible results  which  w  ould  How  from  so  imi)ortant  an  addi- 
tion to  the  territory  is  essent:  ,1.  Meancime,  in  the  process 
of  this  condition  of  prei)aration,  there  is  no  good  reason 


<'» 


A  Poicntiality  of  Peace. 


17 


I)  a 
lier 
led 
ers 
on. 
the 
avG 
itu- 
uld 


why  a  Political  Union  should  not  be  promoted  by  those 
who  desire  it.  If  all  that  it  achieves  can,  however,  be 
brought  about  by  a  Coiniinucial  Union,  without  the  dan- 
gers and  ooinplicatious  which  a  Political  Union  would 
imply,  why  should  there  not  be  a  Commercial  Union! 

THE  ADVANTACIES  OF  A  SEPARATE  EXISTENCE. 

The  chief  objection  to  Commercial  Union  is,  that  under 
it  Canada  would  make  great  progress  and  become  a  great 
rival.  There  is  a  feeling  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to 
the  Dnited  States  to  permit  a  great  country  on  the  "K'orth 
to  be  built  up.  It  is  a  bugbear  which  some  statesmen 
raise,  that  a  British  colony  having  abundant  success  in 
development  and  growth,  is  a  dangerous  element  so  near 
to  the  Union.  But  this  conclusion  is  hardly  correct. 
The  peaceable  relations  between  the  two  countries,  on  the 
contrary,  are  rendered  certain  by  the  conditions  that  now 
prevail.  Great  Britain  will  certainly  maintain  her  policy 
of  peace  with  the  United  States  under  almost  any  stross,,^/ 
for  she  is  constantly  exposed  to  attack  along  a  border 
[line  of  four  thousand  miles.  She  will  be  constantly  on 
ler  good  behavior,  if  an  area  e(pial  to  forty  per  cent,  of 
ler  entire  Empire,  can  be  within  a  week  practically  occu- 
)ied  and  controlled  by  the  United  States.  Equally 
^ould  the  United  States  be  careful  in  their  treatment  of 
Great  Britain,  if  the  magniftcent  cities  of  the  lakes,  which 
it  is  impossible  to  fortify,  are  exposed  at  all  times  to 
attack  by  British  gun-boats;  or  if  in  addition  to  attacks 
from  two  oceans  in  front,  incursion  from  the  land  in  the 
rear  along  so  great  a  border  line  could  be  made.  The 
system  of  defence  which  Great  Britain  has  for  years  been 
perfecting  is  indicative  of  her  strength  in  this  regard. 
Armed  and  equipped  at  Bermuda  is  constantly  a  great 


18 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


fleet,  which  can  be  strengthened  at  p  jy  time  at  Halifax, 
so  that  the  whole  United  States  Atlantic  coast  is,  as  it 
were,  under  surveillance.  A  great  artery  of  land  com- 
munication by  the  Intercolonial  and  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  runs  athwart  the  entire  continent  to  the  Pacific 
Coast,  on  which  powerful  defences  have  been  erected. 
In  these  harbors  a  navy  constantly  rides,  that  could  make 
short  work  of  the  cities  of  the  Pacific  Slope.  It  may  be 
said  tbat  it  would  be  well  to  get  rid  of  these  menaces  to 
the  peace  of  the  United  States,  but  if  they  can  be  kept  in 
check  by  the  constant  creation  of  a  mutuality  of  interests, 
and  the  exposure  of  so  great  a  portion  of  the  British  Em- 
pire to  attack,  a  better  purpose  will  be  served  towards 
peace  than  if  the  British  Possessions  were  entirely 
to  cease  as  such. 


A  GREAT  NATION   ON    THE  NORTH. 

Thus,  from  a  political  point  of  view,  as  from  a  social, 
educational  or  religious,  equally  with  the  military  advan- 
tage, it  would  seem  as  if  it  were  better  to  leave  matters 
as  they  are  as  between  Canada  and  the  United  States. 
What  is  the  danger  resulting  from  the  building  up  of  a 
great  nation  on  the  North!  The  creation  of  such  a 
nation  as  a  customer  of  the  United  States  would  be 
highly  advantageous  to  that  country.  Unless,  indeed,  it 
is  intended  that  the  United  States  shall  be  isolated  from 
all  others,  and  shall  forever  live  within  itself  alone  and 
seek  no  outlet,  nothing  but  advantage  would  follow  the 
creation  of  a  group  of  great  commonwealths  on  the  North. 
Even  as  a  great  colony,  such  a  growth  and  such  a  devel- 
opment could  do  no  possible  harm  to  the  Republic.  But 
if,  instead  of  being  a  great  colony,  Canada  became  inde- 
pendent,— and  having  once  became  independent,  assumed 


TmiJii  the  One  Essential  Tiling, 


10 


a  form  of  government  which  would  unquestionably  bo 
Republican,  as  it  must  be  in  its  scoi)0  and  character, 
what  better  condition  could  prevail  than  this  1  A  region 
as  large  as  that  of  the  United  States  itself,  possessing 
resources  of  equal  magnitude,  supplementary  in  a  rc^ 
markable  degree  to  the  resources  of  this  country,  why 
should  not  the  creation  of  a  sister  republic  on  the  North 
be  infinitely  more  advantageous  than  the  existence  of 
numerous  republics  on  the  louth  ?  If  the  internal  trade 
and  commerce  of  the  United  States,  wiiich  is  so  large  as 
almost  to  be  without  comparison  to  that  of  other  countries, 
can  be  augmented  fourfold  by  the  development  of  the 
northern  half  of  the  continent,  w^hat  possible  objection 
could  there  be  should  this  development  occur  under  a 
different  and  independent  government  ?  True,  it  would 
be  better  to  have  it  within  the  Union  itself.  But  sui)pos- 
ing  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  are  so  great,  that  time 
and  a  long  series  of  circumstances  are  necessary,  is  it 
essential  that  there  should  be  nothing  done  towards  the 
creation  of  this  trade  and  the  development  of  these  re- 
sources for  the  good  of  mankind,  and  especially  for  man- 
kind in  the  United  States? 


THE  I^TEED   OF  NORTHEKN  MARKETS. 

If  Political  Union  is  a  necessity  for  the  growth  of  the 
North,  the  consequences  of  i)olitical  union  should  be  bet- 
ter understood  than  they  are  now.  If,  on  the  contrary,  a 
Commercial  Union  could  achieve  all  that  annexation  woul(t^ 
create,  so  far  as  trade  and  commerce  are  concerned,  then 
should  Commercial  UnionintheshapeofEeciprocity,  orin 
some  other  form,  be  intelligently  discussed  and  under- 
stood. Certainly,  so  far  as  the  United  States  is  con- 
cerned, no  event,  in  the  possible  category  of  events,  could 


SM 


20 


J^nhm  of  United  Sf((t('H  and  Canada. 


J 


f 

••    ^.^ 

f.' 

■^--  L 

'     •% 

r  L 

( ^ 

!--% 

i 

1 

occur  of  iiioic  iinportjiiicc  tlisiii  tliat  which  wouhl  bc^ct 
an  eiiornioMS  (Icvclopnieiit  in  n  countiy  so  iiosuly  attached 
to  licr,  and  toucliin<;-  and  intci lacing  at  so  many  ])oints 
the  States  of  the  Union.  The  productive  forces  of  man u- 
factui-es  in  tlie  Ignited  States,  stimulated  by  the  protec- 
tive policy,  are  far  in  excess  of  the  local  consumption. 
Boots  and  shoes  for  a  hundred  millions,  collars  aud  cufls 
for  (Hie  hundred  and  fifty  millions,  is  the  measure  of 
many  articles  in  output  to  serve  a  i)opulation  of  oidy 
sixty-iive  milliims.  Therefore  a  nuirket  outside  of  the 
Tlniou  is  essential.  This  is  being  sought  for  in  the  South. 
But  Southern  naticmalities  are  thousands  of  miles  away, 
peoyded  by  a  class  whose  wants  are  few,  whose  average 
intelligence  is  meagre,  and  whose  instability  of  govern- 
ment completely  dc^stroys  permanency  in  foreign  trade,  or 
safety  in  credits.  Heavily  subsidized  means  of  commu- 
nication are  necessary  to  reach  this  uncertain  market, 
;this  limited  demand.  The  best  evidences  of  the  limita- 
tion of  this  demand  are  seen  in  the  fact,  that  in  the  last 
year,  while  the  people  of  South  America  are  fifty  milli(ms 
in  number,  the  amount  of  goods  they  have  absorbed  is 
less  than  at  the  rate  of  $1.50  each  per  capita.  Meantime 
the  people  of  Canada  consumed  American  goods  in  spite 
of  a  high  tarift'  at  the  rate  of  $10  per  head. 

THE  DIFFICULTIES   OF   A  FOREIGN   TRADE. 

Aside  from  this,  there  are  serious  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  a  foreign  trade  for  the  United  States.  Until  a 
banking  system  is  created,  by  which  the  exchanges  can 
be  effected  in  this  country,  England  will  levy  a  tribute 
upon  every  remittance  that  is  made.  Until  a  merchant 
marine  is  buUt  by  whlph  goods  can  be  conveyed  in 
American  bQ^tf^ii^s?  England  -  ill  levy  a  tribute  for  every 


% 


Barriers  turned  to  Bonds. 


21 


r 


h 


pound  of  liu'ight  there  is  moved.     I'os.sibly  liftiu**    our- 
selves by  our  boot  straps,  we  may  l)y  a  i)rocess  of  subsi 
dies,  and  of  d(;ad-l)eading-   dear  goods  to   tlieir  destiiia 
tions,  create,  somethiug  of  a  foreign  trade  witli  tlie  South. 
But  it  is  a  struggle  against  adverse  eircunistanees,  and  it 
will  take  ycnirs  to  assume  proportions  eoinmensurate  witli 
the  output  of  American  manufactories  and  the  growth  of 
American  industries.     Conditions  entirely  (liferent  and 
much  more  favorable  prevail  regarding  the  trade  to  the 
Xorth.     Xo  subsidized  line  of  steamers  are  needed,  no 
distant  markets  require  to  be  reached,  no  different  people 
are  found  in  this  direction.    On   the  (tontraiy,  at  every 
single  point  along  a  border  line,  nnparaHehMl  in  length, 
contact  is  had  with   this  vr^st  region,   while  means  of 
lake  and  rail    inter-communication    throb   and   jjulsate 
across  the  dividing  line  of  every  State  and  ev<'ry  ProviLce 
of  the  two  countries.    The  lakes  and  rivers  that  are  now 
barriers  to  divide  the  people  may  liecome  bonds  to  unite 
them.    It  needs  only  that  the  barrier  between  the  two 
be  broken  down,  that  the  barbed  wire  fence  that  now 
divides  them  be   lifted  np,    so  that   enngration  might 
pour  into  that;  Northern  region,  so  tliat  the  development 
of  its  marvellous  resources  may  take  place,  that  trade 
should  be  created  and  a  wealth   pioduced,  the  extent  of 
which  no  man  can  tell. 

To-day,  because  of  over-production,  the  feature  of 
the  hour  is  corners  and  combinations,  trusts  and  consoli- 
dations, to  an  extent  that  begins  to  be  almost  alarming. 
There  is  hardly  any  department  of  activity  in  wliich  com- 
X)etition  can  be  eliminated,  in  which  production  can  be 
regulated,  and  in  which  i)rices  can  be  fixed,  but  is  shift- 
ing itself  into  the  control  of  a  few  men.  There  are  other 
pressing    necessities    in  the  United   States  that  make 


»>o 


Union  of  United  /States  and  Canada. 


esseutial  au  exxjansiou  of  bor  borders,  eveu  if  politically 
they  caiuiot  be  enlarged.  The  whole  equipment  of  the 
eountry  is  keyed  up  to  a  continued  growth,  the  limita- 
tions of  which  are  already  reached.  The  railroad  con- 
structor, the  engine  builder,  the  agricultural  implement 
maker,  and  all  other  producers,  want  room  for  future  opera- 
tions. But  they  want  room  not  more  than  the  i)eople 
will  want  it.  Within  fifty  years,  at  much  less  than  the 
present  rate  of  growth,  the  population  of  the  United 
States  will  reach  the  enormous  aggregate  of  150,000,000 
of  souls  !  With  no  more  new  States  to  admit,  with  land 
already  scarce,— and  a  land  hunger  already  exists — with 
food  i)roducts  already  so  uncertain  that  within  five  years 
a  cropftiilure  would  cause  a  cessation  of  exports:  with  all 
these  circumstances  impending,  no  question  is  quite  so 
imi)ortant  as  to  consider  how  it  will  be  possible  to  get 
free  and  unrestricted  access  to  the  thousand  miles  square  of 
wheat  and  pasturage  lands  in  the  Canadian  l!^orthwest. 
To  people  these  and  all  other  agricultural  sections  of  tlie 
Dominion  with  ready  made  customers  for  the  United 
States,  to  enlarge  the  opportunity  of  every  young  man  in 
the  land,  are  the  possibilities  of  the  development  of  the 
rest  of  the  continent.  Until  a  larger  market  is  afforded, 
until  broadened  opportunities  are  offered,  and  until  a 
supply  of  free  raw  material  is  possible,  these  conditions 
must  intensify.  Hence,  there  is  no  question  to-day  be- 
fore the  American  people,  more  important  than  that  which 
will  afford  to  the  merchants,  manufacturers  and  traders 
of  the  community,  an  early  fulfilment  and  practical 
applic:^tion  ot  the  prophecy  contained  in  the  familiar 
lines : — 

I"  No  pent  up  Utica  confines  y^ur  powers, 
The  whole,  the  boundless  continent  is  yours ! " 


{ 


The  Second  Party. 


23 


i 


FROM   A    CANADIAN   STAND   POINT. 

Haviii;^'  referred  so  fully  to  the  coiisideratioiis  of  a 
imion  with  Canada  from  a  United  States  point  of  view, 
Mr.  VViraan  then  proceeded  to  discuss  it  from  the  Cana- 
dian ijoint  of  view.  lie  said:  So  far  as  the  nuiterial 
advantage  to  Canada  is  concerned,  no  event  could  occur 
at  the  present  moment  whicli  would  be  more  highly  ad-  / 
vantageous  to  that  country  than  its  political  alliance  witli/' 
the  United  States.  If  the  measure  of  development  pos- 
sible in  the  North  is  that  which  has  been  <*reated  by  the 
union  of  commonwealths  in  the  South,  no  lover  of  his 
country  could  desire  a  more  glorious  result  in  the  shape 
of  material  advancement.  Before  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Canadian  Relations  the  speaker  said  he  had  been  asked 
to  estimate  the  increase  in  the  value  of  Canada  as  a  realiz- 
able and  profitable  asset,  if  she  were  part  and  parcel  of 

more  than  she  is  to  day.  Asked  if  he  did  not  mean  one 
hundred  per  cent.,  his  reply  was  that  he  meant,  not  one 
hundred  per  cent,  but  worth  one  hundred  fold  in  value 
greater  to  the  w^orld  than  she  has  hitherto  been.  So  far 
as  material  advancement  was  concerned,  the  speaker's 
estimate  ofwhat  would  be  the  result  of  an  equal  develop- 
ment in  Canada  was  as  large  as  it  could  w^ell  be,  if  placed 
on  an  equal  footing  with  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
Therefore  he  could  not  be  said  to  be  an  opponent  of  annex- 
ation, so  far  as  material  advantages  were  concerned. 
But  his  own  position  in  the  matter  was  of  no  imi)ortance 
whatever,comparable  with  the  tremendous  issues  involved 
in  the  attempt  to  make  one  nation  pervade  this  continent. 
No  man  can  live  in  the  United  States  and  apprehend 


the  American  Union.    His  reply  was  that  Canada  would 
be  under    such  a    condition     worth  one  hundred  fold 


y 


■-as?' 


mamM 


24 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada, 


\y 


the  greatness  of  the  country,  the  niagnitiule  of  the  good 
to  mankind  that  is  here  being  carried  forward,  and  be 
enamored  of  its  people,  without  desiring  to  be  a  i)art  and 
parcel  of  so  great  and  glorious  an  aggregation  of  human- 
ity. But  it  might  be  that  even  for  the  sake  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  themselves,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
future  of  this  great  nation,  that  the  line  of  demarcation 
running  across  the  continent  should  continue,  and  that 
two  nations  instead  of  one  rOiould  (»pcui>y  it.  The  exi)eri- 
ment  of  self-government  which  had  been  going  forward 
here  hnd  revealed  not  a  few  weaknesses,  and  the  exper- 
ience of  other  countries,  and  under  different  conditions, 
had  been  found  to  be  highly  advantageous  to  the  United 
States.  This  is  shown  even  in  the  instrumentality  used  in 
performing  the  highest  and  noblest  duty  of  the  American 
citizen,  viz.,  that  of  casting  the  ballot,  and  the  incident 
that  in  order  to  do  so  effectually,  fairly  and  safely,  a 
system  known  as  the  Australian  system,  developed  in 
a  British  Colony,  had  to  be  availed  of.  The  Canadian 
\  banking  system  is  now  warmly  ccmimended  bj^  the 
I  best  American  bankers  as  the  best  adapted  to  this 
1  country.  If  it  is  a  fact  that  the  experiences  in  other 
nationalities  are  advantageous  to  the  United  States, 
would  it  not  be  possible  that  in  Canada,  under  conditions 
so  similar,  with  a  people  resembling  this  nation  to  such 
an  extent,  starting  in  a  different  way,  that  benefits  of  a 
separate  existence  should  follow  ?  Especially  if  Canada  • 
became  independent,  as  she  und(mbtedly  will  in  time,  and 
should  she  assume  a  republican  form  of  government,  as 
she  must,  she  would  work  out  improvements  and  amend- 
ments highly  advantageous  to  this  country.  Taking  the 
best  that  has  been  here  produced,  and  avoiding  much 
that  might  be  eliminated  with  au\^antage,  a  new  republic 


^  Advantages  of  the  Canadian. 


25 


on  the  North,  should  it  materialize,  would  be  highly 
advantageous  to  the  old  Kepublic  of  the  South  in  its 
governmental  experiments.  Even  to-day  the  Canadian 
form  of  government  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  world. 

^  Avoiding  an  elective  judiciary,her  Justices  are  far  removed 
from  the  turmoils  of  party,  and  the  ermine  of  her  bench  is 
as  spotless  as  the  snow,  while  the  decisions  of  her  courts 
challenge  the  respect  of  the  world.  It  is  true  that  in  her 
politics  Canada  has,  in  common  with  other  countries,  an 
experience  of  boodleism  recently  developed,  which  is 
unfortunate,  and  follows  closely  that  at  one  time  devel- 
oped here.  But,  with  it  all,  Canada  has  yet  to  encounter 
the  system  prevalent  in  the  United  States  of  the  govern- 

- — ment  of  the  Boss,  and  by  the  Boss,  and  for  the  Boss. 
There  are  many  other  advantages  the  development  of 
which  this  country  could  atford  to  let  Canada  i)romote. 

WHV   CANADIAN   SENTIMENT   IS   HOSTILE. 

So  far  as  the  sentiment  of  the  Canadian  people  is  con- 
cerned, it  has  been  alleged  that  it  is  liostile  to  the  United 
States.  This  is  hardly  fair,  to  designate  a  prejudice  as 
hostility.  It  is  a  difti(;ult  matter  to  account  for  the  preju- 
dice, ignorance,  and  political  hypocrisy  which  prevails 
throughout  Canada  in  respect  to  this  country.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  not  a  few  of  the  sami)les  of  the 
people  of  the  tlnited  States  which  have  reached  Canada 
are  those  who  left  that  country  for  their  country's  good. 
With  noble  exceptions,  who  have  achieved  success,  and 
are  deserving  of  the  highest^  respect,  the  American  who 
has  abandoned  the  opportunities  of  this  country,  and  con- 
tented himself  with  the  chances  in  Canada,  has  not 
done  much  to  commend  the  nation  to  the  Canadian  peo- 
ple.   Further^  it  must  always  be  remembered  that  the 


J 


26 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


origin  of  a  huge  portion  of  the  best  citizens  of  Canada  is 
that  which  sprang  from  the  repudiation  of  republican 
principles.  It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  present 
stock  of  Canadians  sprang  first  from  that  band  of  United 
Enipn^e  Loyalists  that  deliberately  left  the  United  States 
at  the  time  of  the  Eevohition.  Sacrificing  their  firesides, 
their  fortunes,  and  their  future,  they  removed  from  this 
country  to  the  wilds  of  Canada  on  the  score  of  loyalty  to 
the  British  Crown.  The  world  has  never  yet  afforded  a 
proper  estimate  to  the  sturdy  loyalty,  to  the  strength  of 
resolve,  and  to  the  high  principle  which  actuated  these 
men.  They  sacrificed  enormously;  they  assumed  tre- 
mendous risks,  and  they  secured  slender  rewards  for  ad- 
hesion to  the  monarchical  form  of  government  and  the 
love  for  British  connection.  Surprise  may  now  well  be 
expressed  at  this  sacrifice.  Some  may  even  smile  at  the 
folly  and  the  apparent  senselessness  of  such  a  withdrawal 
from  the  grand  chances  opened  in  this  country.  But  the 
fact  remains  that  it  is  from  a  race  capable  of  such  sacri- 
fices that  a  large  body  of  the  Canadians  have  sprung. 
Viewing  the  American  Bevolution  as  rebellion  in  the 
highest  degree,  their  children  have  since  been  brought 
up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  loyalty,  and  the 
belief  that  the  American  republic  meant  a  lifelong  treason 
to  a  right  that  they  had  been  taught  was  the  Divine 
Eight  of  Kings.  Was  it  any  wonder  that  in  England  and 
in  Canada,  when  the  Civil  War  broke  out  there  should 
be  a  sentiment  prevailing  that  that  rebellion  was  but  the 
result  of  a  previous  rebellion  ?  Was  it  any  wonder  that 
when  men  ignorant  of  what  had  occurred  here  in  the  shape 
of  good  to  mankind,  felt  that,  as  it  was  said  by  the  Man- 
chester man,  ^'  If  the  devil  don't  get  the  North  and 
South  there  was  no  use  in  t  .Mng  a  devil!"    It  is  difficult 


Loyalty  a  Great  Factor. 


27 


A 


for  the  American  to  put  Mmself  in  the  position  of  an 
English  loyaiist,and  still  more  dilfieult  for  the  Canadian  of 
the  same  faith,  whose  distance  from  the  source  of  loyalty 
lends  enchantment  to  the  view.  It  has  been  said  that 
in  Winnipeg,  the  newest  of  Canadian  cities,  there  was^ 
more  loyalty  to  the  square  inch  than  there  was  in  Lon- 
don. The  existence  of  tliis  sentiment  of  loyalty  on  tlie 
one  hand,  and  prejudice  against  tlie  United  States  on  the 
other,  is  an  enormous  factor  in  considering  a  possible 
union  between  the  two  countries,  either  commercial  or 
political.  It  is  a  sentiment  of  api)arent  ignorance,  a  pre- 
judice utterly  inexcusable  and  unjustihable.  But  the 
sentiment  of  loyalty  and  prejudice  still  exists,  and  it  will 
only  be  by  contact  with  the  American  peopl«  and  by  an 
enlarged  view  of  their  good  and  generous  qualities  that  it 
can  be  mitigated  and  removed. 

THE  DISCONTENT   OF   CANADA. 

So  far  as  Canada  is  concerned,  her  material  advantage 
would  be  enormous  if  a  Political  Union  were  achieved. 
But  those  who  understand  the  real  sentiment  of  the  vast 
majority  of  the  Canadian  people,  see  no  immediate  i)ros- 
pect  of  such  a  consummation.  It  is  true,  there  is  a  growth 
of  the  sentiment  in  behalf  of  a  political  relation  with  thi 
country.  This  arises  from  the  convicti<m  that  Confeder- 
l  ation  as  now  carried  forward  is  a  failure ;  that  the 
National  Policj^  of  Protection  in  a  small  (country  has  not 
produced  the  results  claimed  for  itf  that  the  increase 
shown  by  the  census  is  alarmingly  small,  and  that  the 
difficulties  between  the  Provinces  as  to  exi)enditure  and 
terms  of  adhesion  are  full  of  complications.  Xot  a  few 
feel  that  all  these  problems  would  tind  a  solution  in  an- 
nexation 5  while  the  permanency  which  would  be  found 


1  > 


v: 


'A 


wm. 


m 


28 


Unioyi  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


in  i)olitical  union,  the  assured  future  which  it  would 
open  uj)  for  the  young  men  of  the  country  now  leaving  it 
in  droves,  and  above  all,  the  freedom  from  future  compli- 
cations in  trade  and  progress,  make  Political  Union  to 
some  the  most  attractive  of  all  possibilities.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  those  who  are  believers  in  the  motto 
of  Horace,  that  ^'  The  space  of  life  is  too  short  to  permit 
us  to  lay  plans  requiring  a  long  time  for  their  accomplish- 
ment." These  believe  that  the  constitutional  means  to 
achieve  a  Political  Union  are  absent,  and  that  to  attempt 
to  force  a  Political  Union  bydenying  a  Commercial  Union 
would  be  to  defeat  both  for  a  period  of  time  far  beyond 
the  lives  of  the  present  generation.  The  i^resent  need  of 
the  hour  is  a  better  relation.  That  better  relation  cannot 
be  got  by  pressure,  or  even  by  the  discussion  of  political 
alliance.  The  rank  and  file  of  the  Canadian  people  do 
not  want  to  admit  that  they  are  a  failure  as  a  self-govern- 
ing people.  They  have  deliberately  chosen  their  present 
form  of  government.  Q'he  men  Avho  have  come  from 
Great  Britain  to  sui)plement  the  descendants  of  the  United 
Empire  Loj^alist,  or  whose  children  succeed  them,  delib- 
erately chose,  in  preference  to  the  United  States,  this 
colonial  existence.  They  may  be  disappointed  in  it,  and 
seeking  an  independence,  may  desire  to  work  out  their 
own  salvation.  But  these  have  not  yet  reached  a  con- 
clusion of  failure. 

CANADIAN   NATIONAL   8ENTIMENT. 

Again,  tliere  is  a  growth,  and  a  very  perceptible  and 
creditable  growtli,  of  a  sentiment  purely  Canadian,  a 
pride  in  their  country,  as  well  they  may  have  pride,  and 
hope  for  a  future,  even  separate  and  distinct  and  isolated 
from  the  United  States,    iv  reliance  upon  their  own  re- 


I 


Revolution^  Conquest,  or  Purchase. 


20 


sources,  a  lunirty  fruMidsliii)  and  ho[)C  oflielpfioui  (xreat 
Britain,  and,  above  all,  a  sturdy  independence  of  charac- 
ter that  even  though  it  calls  for  sacrifices,  they  will  be 
readily  submitted  to,  rather  than  be  forced  or  driven  by 

^any  stress  whatever  into  an  alliance  which  is  thus  forced 
upon  them,  and  is  repugnant  to  them.  One  cannot  but 
commend,  and  if  he  is  a  Canadian,  glory  in  this  growth  of 

•  national  sentiment.  The  speaker  said  it  was  difficult  to/* 
be  an  advocate  of  annexation  so  long  as  a  great  numberj//; 
of  young  Canadians  were  imbued  with  a  national  feeling|i 
entirely  their  own,  and  with  an  independence  of  sj)iri 
that  if  left  alone  would  work  out  for  them  a  destiny  jus 
as  good  and  just  as  noble  as  that  which  had  been  worked 

V  out  in  the  great  liepublic. 

THE  THREE  ESSENTIALS   PRECEDING  POLITICAL  UNION. 

There  are  only  three  ways  in  which  a  political  alliance 
could  be  achieved  between  the  two  nations  of  ^N^orth 
America.  These  three  means  are  Revolution,  Conquest 
or  Purchase.  There  seems  no  other  way  Tn  which  Canada 
could  be  brought  within  the  Union,  even  in  the  next 
century,  except  one  of  these  three  forces  were  employed, 
and  for  anyone  of  th-^se  three  there Avas  not  the  slightest 
iustitication.  There  can  be  no  revolution  in  Canada 
without  a  political  discontent,  and  political  discontent 
can  never  exist  where  there  was  liberty  of  the  press  and 
a  free  ballot.  It  was  in  the  ballot  that  revolution  would 
find  its  expression  and  its  remedy.  There  was  no  politi- 
cal discontent  in  Canada.  There  may  be  dissatisfaction, 
but  dissatisfaction  was  remedial  by  the  exercise  of  the 
elective  franchise.  If  Canada  were  administered  by  a 
despotic  power — if  she  had  a  real  cause  for  a  ijolitical 
change — and  if  this  was  the  universal  sentiment  and  per- 


30 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


vaded  every  Province,  such  a  political  revolution  as  would 
result  ia  an  application  for  admission  into  the  United 
States  might  result.  But  no  such  cause  for  political  dis- 
content existed,  nor  was  any  likely  to  exist,  and  from 
this  source  no  expectation  might  be  indulged  for  appli- 
cation to  admission  into  the  United  States. 

As  to  the  next  mode,  that  of  conquest,  it  was,  of  course, 
not  to  be  thought  of.  The  American  people  never  for  an 
instant  dreamed  of  acquisition  of  territory  by  force  of 
war.  They  had  already  a  sufficient  territory  to  govern 
satisfactorily,  and  the  problems  within  it  were  sufficient 
to  ta:^  the  ingenuity  of  their  statesmen.  No  justification 
could  be  found  for  conquest.  It  would,  of  course,  imply 
war  with  Great  Britain,  which  would  be  the  most  disas- 
trous event  that  could  possibly  occur,  and  this  mode  of 
begetting  a  political  union  may  be  at  once  and  for  ever 
dismissed. 

As  to  the  third,  that  of  purchase,  it,  too,  was  not  avail- 
able. Great  Britain  could  not  and  would  not  sell  a  foot 
of  her  territory.  She  would  sacrifice  everything  in  the 
world,  except  her  honor,  to  maintain  intact  her  empire. 
If  the  wish  of  her  i>eople  in  any  part  of  that  empire  so 
expressed  it,  she  would  not,  it  is  believed,  object  strenu- 
ously to  a  severance,  for  it  is  maintained  only  by  a 
hearty  assent  of  a  vast  majority  of  her  subjects.  To  be 
moved  by  any  monetary  consideration  to  sacrifice  her 
greatest  of  colonies  is  a  possibility  beyond  all  imagina- 
tion. Once,  in  a  moment  of  banter,  Mr.  Blaine  had  asked 
the  speaker  what  was  the  extent  of  the  Canadian  provin- 
cial and  national  and  nui..Icipal  debt,  and  being  assured 
that  it  was  about  $000,000,000  he  asked  if  Canada  could 
be  brought  into  the  Union  if  all  her  debts  were  paid.  In 
other  words,  if  the  United  States  should  pay  all  their 


i 


Constitutional  Inadequacy. 


31 


public  debts,  would  tliert*  be  a  dispositiou  to  enter  the 
Uuion.  The  speaker  had  replied,  that  Mr.  Blaine  very 
imperfectly  understood  the  disposition  of  the  Canadian 
people,  if  he  for  an  instant  imagined  any  such  considera- 
tion wouhl  have  the  slightest  influence.  To  his  credit  be 
it  said,  Mr.  Blaine  admitted  this  to  be  the  case,  and  it 
was  only  in  a  spirit  of  banter  that  the  idea  had  been  sug- 
gested. The  United  States  have  added  to  their  territory 
to  a  greater  extent  by  purchase  than  by  any  other  instru- 
mentality. Yet  the  close  observ^er  will  be  easily  con- 
vinced, by  conditions  both  in  Canada  and  England,  that 
this  mode  of  acquisition  for  the  balance  of  the  continent 
is  simply  out  of  the  question.  It  will  therefore  be  seen 
that  neither  by  revolution,  by  conquest,  nor  by  purchase, 
is  the  absorption  of  Canada  by  the  United  States  a  pos- 
sibility at  i)resent. 

THE   ABSENCE   OF   CONSTITUTIONAL  MEANS. 

The  conditions  that  prevail  in  Canada  are  all  antago- 
nistic to  a  i>ractical  adaptation  of  the  annexation  idea. 
There  are  no  constitutional  means  by  which,  within  half 
a  century,  so  great  a  country  could  denude  itself  of  its 
semi-independence,  and  become  incorporated  into  that  of 
another.  For  instance,  to  come  down  to  practical  details, 
it  would  require  an  Act  of  Parliament,  confirmed  by  the 
Senate  of  the  Dominion,  which  would  take  the  shape  of 
an  Address  to  Her  Majesty,  asking  that  the  country  be 
freed  from  its  allegiance.  Each  Province  w^ould  require 
to  take  on  a  Statehood  and  become  part  and  parcel  of  the 
American  Union.  Now,  to  imagine  a  Parliament,  elected 
with  this  in  view,  is  to  imagine  a  change  so  vital,  so 
sweeping,  and  almost  so  incomprehensible,  in  the  mind 
of  the  Canadian  people,  as  to  place  it  almost  beyond  the 


=^m 


32 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


poiut  of  possibility.  For  to  inlvocjito  aiuiexatiou  for 
years  to  come  would  be  tbc  ruin  of  any  politician,  tbe 
ruin  of  any  uarty.  If  it  is  found  to-day  i)0ssible  to 
elect  a  pound-keeper,  or  even  a  constable,  known  to  favor 
annexation,  in  lialf  a  dozen  constituencies,  there  might 
be  some  hope  that  there  would  be  in  time  a  change  in 
sentiment.  But  any  political  party,  or  any  combination, 
who  might  form  the  nucleus  of  a  party,  even  any  candi- 
date for  Parliamentary  honors,  who  adopted  the  annex- 
ation cause  as  the  ground  vif  conlideuce,  could  not  just 
now  summon  a  corporal's  guard  to  his  support.  The 
speaker  said  that  the  American  press  were  grossly 
deceived  by  the  slight  indications  that  here  and  there 
were  afforded  of  a  change  in  public  sentiment.  It  was 
true  that  there  was  a  growth  of  this  sentiment,  but  it 
was  not  sufficiently  rapid,  or  marked,  an  indication  of  a 
change  vital  enough  to  bring  about  any  practical  result 
in  fifty  years.  It  was  almost  painful  to  observe  the 
avidity  with  which  the  newspapers  in  the  United  States 
snatched  at  every  little  item  favoring  annexation.  The 
indications  np  to  this  time  of  a  growth  in  that  sentiment 
were  extremely  slight  and  unreliable,  and  it  is  almost  a 
crime  to  deceive  the  public  that  it  is  otherwise,  if  that 
deception  is  made  the  basis  of  denying  or  delaying  a 
reciprocal  relation  of  enormous  advantage  to  both 
countries. 

Supposing  that  the  annexation  sentunent  did  grow, 
so  that  at  every  five  years,  at  the  general  election,  a  half 
a  dozen  members  of  Parliament  were  elected,  it  would 
take  half  a  century  to  '.ring  about  a  result  at  all  justi- 
fiable to  the  United  States,  to  entertain  the  expectation 
of  a  Political  Union.  For  it  must  be  understood  that  in 
order  to  effect  a  perfect  change  in  the  political  complexion 


I 


Remoieneas  of  Annexation, 


3'» 


or 
le 
to 
(»r 
ht 


of  the  country  aiul  to  alter  entirely  its  allegiance  frrmi 
one  government  to  another,  a  substantial  uiiiforniity  of 
sentiment  must  prevail.  A  bare  majority  in  favor  of 
changing  any  form  of  government  would  not  suflfice. 
The  people  of  the  LTnited  States  would  repudiate  a  half- 
he.arted  consent,  and  of  all  things  Avould  abhor  the.  idea 
of  forcing  even  a  respectable  minority  into  an  alliance 
with  them.  TJiere  is  no  desire  on  the  part  of  the  United 
St^ites  to  have  on  the  Xorth  a  Poland  or  a  Hungary. 
Ui^less  there  is  a  hearty  and  almost  uu'inimoiis  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  Canadian  people  to  take  i)art  and  lot  in 
their  future,  there  is  no  disposition  on  this  side  of  the 
border  to  adopt  them.  To  contemplate  a  Parliament 
sufficiently  untinimous  to  ask  Her  Majesty  for  leave  to 
sever  the  connection  that  is  prized  beyond  that  of  almost 
an^^  other  blessing,  to  expect  a  Senate  which  is  appointed 
for  life  to  deliberately  and  collectively  extinguish  itself, 
would  be  to  expect  something  that  it  seems  next  to  im- 
possible will  happen  in  our  day  and  generation.  When 
it  is  recalled  how  strongly  intrenched  is  the  Koman 
Catholic  Church  in  her  guarantees  from  Great  Britain, 
and  the  danger  that  the  French  priests  would  feel,  even 
if  a  majority  of  votes  in  their  own  Province  should  pre- 
vail against  them  in  a  changed  relation ;  when  one  recalls, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  vehement  protestations  of  loyalty 
by  the  Orangemen  to  British  connection — how  difficult 
does  it  seem  that  a  change  in  sentiment  is  likely  to  pre- 
vail, sufficiently  strong  to  effect  a  i)olitical  revolution  so 
violently  opposed  to  the  existing  conditions.  American 
editors,  and  even  intelligent  American  observers,  are  con- 
stantly misled  from  the  want  of  accurate  knowledge  as 
to  the  strength  of  the  desire  for  British  connection. 
How  could  it  be  otherwise  than  that  there  should  be  a 


34 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


I 

I'M 


\ 


deep  and  lasting  affection  between  the  motlier  and  the 
daughter,  so  long  as  the  mother  treats  the  daughter 
as  she  has  hitherto  done  ?  The  influence  of  the  American 
Revolution  was  to  chang«;  the  policy  of  Great  Britain 
towards  her  colonies.  (Jannda  has  been  as  free,  her  in- 
stitutions as  ebistic,  her  political  autonomy  as  perfect  as 
if  she  were  an  independent  country.  Not  a  dollar  of 
Imperial  revenue  reaches  Canada;  not  a  dollar  of  Cana- 
dian revenue  reaches  the  Imperial  treasury.  Canada 
taxes  British  goods  the  same  as  she  taxes  the  goods  of 
the  United  States  or  any  other  country.  Great  Britain 
admits  freely  the  products  of  all  other  countries  on  pre- 
cisely the  same  terms  as  she  admits  the  products  of  her 
colonies.  The  social  relations  between  Great  Britain 
and  Canada  are  extremely  intimate.  The  commercial  and 
financial  ties  that  bind  them  together  are  of  the  closest 
character.  Thus  between  $800,000,000  and  $900,000,000 
of  British  money  is  invested  in  Canada,  and  the  amountj 
of  interest  which  Canada  pays  to  Great  Britain  absorbs 
almost  her  entire  agricultural  export.  The  purchases 
of  her  merchants,  the  credits  granted  to  her  traders  and 
manufacturers,  and  all  the  thousand  and  one  inter-com- 
munications between  so  great  an  empire  and  so  great  a 
colony,  are  of  a  character  to  make  it  almost  impossible  to 
contemplate  a  sudden  cessation  of  them,  and  the  transfer 
to  another  country.  Certainly  not  unless  a  condition  of 
preparedness  precedes  the  transfer,  and  the  gradual 
weaning  and  changing  of  relations  occur.  This  can  only 
be  brought  about  by  an  intimate  connection  between  the 
United  States  and  Canad.  .  It  will  never  be  brought 
about  by  retaliation,  by  isolation  one  from  the  other,  or 
by  pressure,  or  by  the  withholding  of  the  natural  results 
of  a  geographical  connection,  such  as  should  produce  a 


I 


Canada  Tcmj^tcd, 


35 


or 


close  contact  one  with  the  other.  If  by  Unrestricted 
Raciprocity  a  mutuality  of  interests  can  be  created  so 
that  the  two  nations  may  come  to  understand  ea<^h  other, 
and  secure  all  the  advantages  that  would  How  from  a 
I)olitical  connection,  in  time  even  this  mij»lit  be  brought 
.about.  As  to  that,  the  future  must  take  care  of  itself. 
It  may  be  that  a  trade  connection  would  ])ostpone  an- 
nexation. There  are  some  who  hoi)e  it  may,  because  of 
the  reasons  before  referred  to.  There  are  others  who 
consider  that  the  best  way  to  inxxrure  a  political  alliance 
is  to  jjrecede  it  with  a  commercial  intimacy,  so  that  it 
will  be  only  one  step  further,  by  the  glad  consent  of  all 
parties,  in  order  to  make  the  continent  one  and  undi- 
visible. 

DILE?JMA  OF  GREAT   BRITAIN. 

There  are  circumstaiices  however  which  might  change 
completely  the  sentiment  in  Canada  regarding  British 
connection.  These  circumstances  might  be  'shai)ed  and 
moulded  by  the  United  States  to  a  degree  that  is  now 
little  imagined.  If,  for  instance,  through  its  Congress 
the  United  States  should  tender  to  the  people  of  Canada, 
a  free  admission  into  this  great  market  for  all  their 
products  and  manufactures,  in  exchange  for  an  equally 
free  admission  into  Canada  of  all  the  products  and  manu- 
factures of  the  United  State,  a  boon  would  be  offered 
which  Canada  could  not  refuse.  A  Parliament  that  would 
refuse  it  would  not  be  returned  a  second  time.  The  late 
election  shows  that  while  this  question  was  in  the  air, 
and  the  indention  of  the  United  States  waj  hardly  known, 
the  Tory  majority  was  reduced  one  half.  If,  for  instance, 
such  an  offer  were  definitely  made,  in  the  present  session 
of  Congress,  especially  in  view  of  numerous  bye-elections 


i 


36 


Cnion  of  United  States  and  Canada, 


now  iinj)eiKlin^-,  a  majority  in  Parliament  for  tlie  Libeial 
^party  would  be  created,  and,  the  Liberal  i)arty  once  in 
power,  this  otter  would  be  accepted. 
^  It  is  an  interesting  and  signiftcaut  study  to  follow  what 
would  be  the  result  of  such  an  otter  and  such  an 
acceptiune,  as  the  result  of  such  a  change  in  the  political 
(;omplexioii  ofattairs.  Let  us  consider  it.  Supposingthat 
the  otter  was  made  by  the  ( 'ongress  of  the  United  States, 
and  acceptcMl  by  the  Parliament  of  Cfinada,  this  acceptance 
would  imply  the  free  admission  of  American  manufactures, 
and  equally  imply  a  continuance  of  the  high  duty  now 
prevailing  iigainst  manufactures  from  other  countries,  in- 
cluding Great  Britain.  While  Parliament  is  ordinarily 
free  to  regulate  the  fiscal  affairs  of  the  Dominion,  and  all 
its  proceedings  up  to  this  time  have  been  consented  to  by 
the  Oovernor  General  on  behalf  of  the  (Jueen,  it  is  hardly 
likely  that  so  great  a  measure  as  discrimination  against 
hritish  manufactures  would  be  assented  to  without  refer- 
ence to  the  Imperial  Government.  The  question,  there- 
fore, of  permitting  the  greatest  British  colon}^  tv  discrim- 
inate against  British  goods,  and  admit  those  of  a  coiiiiiiei'- 
cial  rival  free,  would  be  the  dilemma  in  w  liich  the  Imperial 
Government  would  find  itself.  To  some  loyalists  such  [i 
proposition  almost  equals  the  desire  for  commercial  free- 
dom which  led  to  the  Aiuerican  Kevolution  and  resulted 
in  the  Boston  tea  party.  Because  it  is  so  regarded  the  im- 
portance of  pressing  it  to  an  issue  seems  paramount  even 
by  those  whose  oidy  desire  is  either  the  indei)enden('e  of 
Canada  or  its  annexation.  If  the  consent  of  the  Imperial 
/^Government  was  given,  permitting  Canada  to  thus  trade 
/  freely  Avith  the  United  State.,,  ami  by  discrimination 
^  largely  diminish  trade  with  Great  Britain,  the  tie  that 
^]binds  the  two  together  would  be  materially  lessened,  not 


Testing  the  Question  Pruvtividhj. 


\\\ 


'  only  iinmediately,  but  as  time  woro  on.  If,  on  the  roii-^ 
/  trary,  this  Imperial  consent  to  trade  with  wliom  slie  chose 
was  denied  to  Cana<Ia,  it  would  be«;et  a  very  serious  strain 
in  the  relations  of  the  two  (countries.  Jf  a  majority  of 
the  (^^anadiaus,  comprising'  the  farmers,  the  fishernuMi, 
lumbermen,  miners,  and  shipjjers,  felt  that  they  were 
denied  access  for  their  products  to  the  j;reatest  market 
under  the  sun,  for  tlie  benetit  of  the  Enf;'lish  manufac- 
turer, they  would  likely  resent  such  Ji  denial  very 
promptly.  Inasmuch  as  the  exports  to  Canada  comprise 
only  three  per  cent,  of  the  IJritish  exports,  it  will  be  seen 
for  liow  slight  a  percentage  a  sacrifice  so  great  would  be 
demanded  of  Canada,  were  she  forbidden  to  trade  with 
the  United  States  on  the  terms  offered  by  that  country. 


A  PKACTIOAL  SUflGESTTON. 

It  will  therefore  be  seen  that  in  order  to  test  the 
strength  and  force  of  the  relation  existing  between  Great 
Britain  and  Canada  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  willingness 
of  Canada  to  have  a  free  and  nnrestricted  interconrse 
with  the  United  States  on  the  other,  it  will  only  be  neces- 
sary for  Congress  at  its  ])resent  session  to  pass  a  resolu- 
tion which  was  recommended  in  the  last  Congress  by  its 
Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs.  That  resolution  is  in 
these  words : 

''  Resolved,  that  whenever  it  shall  be  duly  certified  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States  that  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
has  declared  a  desire  to  enter  into  such  commercial  arran<j;ement« 
with  the  United  States  as  will  result  in  the  complete  removal  of  all 
duties  upon  trade  between  Canada  and  the  United  States,  he  shall 
appoint  three  commissioners  to  meet  those  who  may  be  designated  to 
represent  the  Government  of  Canada,  to  consider  the  best  method  of 
extending  the  trade  relations  between  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
and  to  ascertain  on  what  terms  entire  freedom  of  intercourse  be- 


38 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


tweeii  the  tAvo  countries  can  best  be  secured,  and  said  commissioners 
•  shall  report  to  the  President,  who   shall  lay  the   report  before  Con- 
gress." 

It  may  bo  doubted  if  upon  a  dozen  lines  introduced 
into  Conp-ess  ever  depended  conseqiu>nces  of  more  far 
reacliin^-  character  than  on  tliese,  should  it  hnd  favor  with 
that  august  bodj'. 

Some  expectation  is  indulged  in  that  by  negotia- 
tion between  the  existing  Canadian  Tory  government 
and  the  T'nited  States,  a  treaty  of  reciju'ocity  may  be 
reached.  It  is  believed  by  some  that  by  dii)lomatic  action 
between  Great  Britain  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  United 
States  on  the  other,  a  better  relation  with  Canada  can 
be  created.  There  is  not  much  hope,  however,  in  diplo- 
macy, which,  so  far  as  Canada  is  concerned,  must  originate 
with  (Ireat  i^i'itain.  It  may  be  assumed  that  the  latter 
country  will  not  advise  any  discrimination  against  her 
own  manufactures,  and  Avithout  a  uniform  tariff  and  a 
free  admission  of  American  goods,  there  is  no  hope  of  a 
reciprocity  between  Lhe  two  countries.  On  the  other 
hand,  where  diplomacy  fails  because  it  commences  at  the 
top,  concurrent  legislation  will  succeed,  because  it  starts 
at  the  bottom,  and  emanates  directly  from  the  p(H)ple. 
Action  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  concurred 
in  by  the  Parliament  of  Canada,  is  the  only  mode  by 
which  a  permanent  and  satisfactory  basis  can  be  reached 
for  an  unrestricted  relation  between  the  two  countries. 

HOW   GREAT   BRITAIN   IS   AFFECTED. 

This  allusion  to  the  attitude  '*f  Great  Britain  brings  to 
mind  the  fact,  that  this  Great  Empire  is  the  third  party 
to  a  consideration  of  the  relations  existing  l>etween  the 
two  English  si)eaking  peoples  on  this  continent.    When 


Unwillingness  of  Great  Britnin. 


39 


Americaus  speak  of  annexing  Canada,  tliey  very  rarely 
consider  the  effect  on  Great  Britain  of  sucli  an  event.  It 
is  seldom  realized  to  Avhat  an  extent  this  vast  empire 
consists  of  ontlying  dependencies  and  colonies,  and  how 
important  it  is  that  these  shonld  remain  intact.  There- 
tore,  to  consider  that  Great  Britain  would  willingly,  or 
with  any  complacency,  view  a  transfer  of  an  area  that 
comprises  forty  i^er  cent,  of  her  Empire ;  if  that  transfer 
is  to  be  made  to  a  llepublic,  against  whose  independence 
she  struggled  so  vig<n'()usly,  is  to  consider  a  great  im- 
probability. If  the  region  which  extends  from  the  At- 
lantic to  the  Pacific,  from  the  North  I*ole  to  the  ^'orty- 
flfth  parallel,  and  which  is  larger  than  the  United  States, 
can  be  suddenly  or  even  gradually  parted  with,  what 
might  not  follow  in  other  parts  of  the  world  ?  There  are 
those  who  consider  that  if  Great  Britain  were  to  lose 
control  of  Canada,  slie  would  cease  to  be  a  first-class 
power.  The  moral  effect  of  so  vast  a  territory,  of  re- 
sources so  under  control,  though  even  latent,  so  full  of 
promise  for  the  future  of  the  Britisli  race,  is  of  great 
importance  in  the  government  of  the  world.  In  In- 
dia, for  instance,  where  an  English  poi)ulation  of  180,- 
000  shape  the  policy  of  over  two  hundred  millions 
of  people,  will  be  seen  the  i)ower  of  moral  force. 
To  lessen  Great  Britain's  i)ower  in  Canada  might 
readily  be  followed  by  an  fqual  loss  elsewhere. 
The  great  Continent  of  Australia,  and  a  hundred  other 
colonies  and  dependencies,  might  lessen  in  their  allegi- 
ance if  Canada,  the  greatest  of  colonies,  found  it  neces- 
sary for  her  happiness  ind  success,  to  ally  herself  to  the 
Great  llepublic  of  the  United  States.  Besides  these, 
there  are  numerous  othor  considerations  which  would 
make  Great  Britaijj  very  reluctant  to  part  with  Canada. 


40 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada. 


« 

I 


The  new  route  to  ber  Eastern  dependeneies,  across  British 
Territory  over  the  Canadian  Pacific  TIailway  for  troops 
and  merchandise,  is  a  revehition  to  tlie  military  aiid  com- 
mercial i)owers  of  Great  Britain.  The  need  for  food 
supplies  and  the  steady  movement  towards  an  Imperial 
Federation,  which  contemplates  shutting  out  by  duty, 
the  products  of  foreign  countries,  including  those  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  free  admission  of  Colonial  products, 
shows  the  tendenc^y  that  exists  towards  strengthening 
the  ties  that  bind  such  countries  as  Canada  to  this  great 
centre  of  power.  A  close  commercial  and  monetary 
relation  with  ('anada,  the  investment  of  eight  or  nine 
hundred  millions  by  English  capitalists,  a  long  series  of 
social  and  personal  relationships,  would  render  it  very 
difficult  to  contemplate  a  sudden  cess.ation  of  the  intimate 
connections  hitherto  existing  between  the  two  countries. 
It  is  needless  to  pursue  this  subject  further.  The 
struggle  that  (Jreat  Britian  made  to  maintain  the  Amer- 
ican colonies  under  her  control,  the  enormous  sacrifices 
that  she  makes  in  foreign  lands  to  assert  her  supremacy 
and  maintain  her  power,  the  magnitude  of  her  revenues 
from  her  outlying  territories,  in  the  shape  of  interest  and 
profits,  all  point  to  the  impossibility  of  a  cheerful  render- 
ing up  of  the  brightest  Jewel  that  adorns  the  British 
Crown. 

WHAT   Ol'   THE  FUTURE? 

Having  at  such  great  i<^ngth  reviewed  the  attitude  of 
the  three  great  ])arties  to  a  possible  compact  of  union  on 
North  America,  viz.,  United  States,  Canada  and  Great 
Britain,  it  remains  only  to  say  that,  the  magnitude  of  the 
subject,  the  enormous  conse(iuences  that  may  flow  from 
its  assuming  practical  shape,  are  only  equalled  by  the 


/i 


ji 


The  Logic  0/  U vents. 


iL 


I 


difficulties  iu  the  way  of  a  i)Qlitieal  alliauce.  in  oompa- 
'risou  with  the  difficulties  and  reuioteue.ss  ol'  a  change  in 
political  conditions,  tlie  siniijlicity  and  early  possibility 
of  a  Ooinniercial  Union,  through  the  creation  of  a  reci- 
4)r()cal  arrangement,  are  obvious.  Those  who  desire 
above  all  things  a  Political  ITnion  will  And  that  a  commer- 
cial bargain  between  the  two  countries  will  best  promote 
^  it.  Certainly  their  desire  will  be  indefinitely  postponed 
if  a  policy  of  pressure,  which  finds  its  harshest  interpre- 
tation in  the  McKinley  bill,  is  persistently  pursued.  If 
such  a  pressure,  or  any  other  form  of  threat  is  indulged 
in,  in  order  to  force  the  Canadian  people,  the  inirpose  of 
that  pressure  will  be  defeated.  There  is  not  on  the  face 
of  the  globe  a  peojde  willing  to  make  greater  sacrifices 
than  these  for  i^rinciple.  Those  who  intimately  and 
closely  understand  the  question,  feel  that  a  postponement 
of  a  reciprocity  is  an  indefinite  postponement  of  Political 
Union.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  annexaticm  will 
follow  reciprocity.  It  is  possible  that  as  so  much  is 
granted  under  that  wise  nnd  liberal  principle,  there  will 
be  no  necessity  for  annexation.  But  it  is  a  i)oor  compli- 
ment to  the  free  and  liberal  institutions  of  the  United 
States  to  believe  that  thej^  are  not  sufliciently  attractive 
in  the  advantages  they  ofi'er  to  draw  «  nation  so  much 
needing  an  alliance  with  them  as  the  Dominion  of 
Canada,  without  the  necessity  of  a  policy  of  force.  If  the 
Canadian  people  do  not  Avant  to  come  into  the  Union  will- 
ingly and  cheerfully,  and  after  a  condition  of  prepared- 
ness on  both  sides,  which  a  reciprocity  alone  will  bring- 
about,  then  the  United  States  would  be  better  off  without 
them.  If,  on  the  contrary,  after  many  years  of  the  closest 
social  and  commercial  intimacy,  supplanting  to  a  con- 
siderable degree  the  intimacy  of  the  relation  that  now 


42 


Union  of  United  States  and  Canada, 


exists  betwe^eu  Canada  and  Great  Britain,  there  is  found 
to  be  still  greater  ad\  antages,  and  a  great  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  Canadian  people  to  become  incorporated,  in 
the  shape  of  a  dozen  distinctive  commonwealths,  into  the 
glorious  constellation  that  within  the  Union  illumines  the 
Western  hemisphere,  it  would  seem  a  natural  and  de- 
sirable result.  Meantime  if,  in  anticipation  of  or  even  to 
indefinitely  postpone  annexation,  a  practical  Commercial 
Alliance  is  made,  an  a<;hievement  will  be  accomplished, 
taking  rank  in  its  consequences  to  mankind  at  large  with 
such  events  as  the  Reformation,  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence and  the  Emancipation  of  the  Slave. 

In  the  grand  procession  of  great  events  which  in  this 
world  shape  and  mould  the  destiny  of  nations,  some 
form  of  union  between  the  English  speaking  people  of» 
this  continent  may  be  not  the  least  signiticant.  While 
Europe,  even  in  times  of  profound  peace,  is  an  armed 
camp  of  warriors,  and  incurring  an  expenditure  for 
defence  far  exceeding  that  of  a  great  war,  in  this  free 
America,  by  the  creation  of  a  mutuality  of  interests,  in 
an  honorable  alliance,  greater  good  can  be  done  to 
mankind  tlian  is  possible  to  all  the  combined  armies  of 
Euroi)e.  The  growth  of  wealth  by  the  development  of 
resources  now  latent,  the  broadening  of  the  opportunity 
for  the  coming  generation,  the  provision  for  the  food  of 
the  world,  and  an  anix>le  reward  for  industry,  inventive 
skill  and  energetic  eftbrt,  are  all  possible  by  the  creation 
of  a  universal  reciprocity  on  this  continent,  which  will 
give  the  best  and  noblest  illustration  that  has  ever  yet 
been  aftbrded  of  the  motto  that  ''  Peace  hath  her  victories, 
no  less  renowned  than  War." 


I 


'^K-- 


